One of city’s oldest calls it a day at 107

THE family of Ipswich's oldest man Rupert Cliff paid tribute to a "gentle man" yesterday.

Mr Cliff, 107, had a fall on Saturday and spent most of the day in hospital before being released but was in a weakened state and passed away in his sleep.

He lived in a granny flat at his grandson Nathaniel Cliff's Denmark Hill home.

Nathaniel Cliff said his grandfather had lived an active life, taking part in ballroom dancing every week up to age 95 and liked to live independently, doing some of his own cooking.

"He was very lucid right up until the end. Even in the hospital on Saturday he was still having a bit of a joke. One of the nurses asked him what he wanted to drink and he said 'I'll have a Bloody Mary'," he said.

"Grandpa was a gentle man, someone who was not pushy, very accepting of things and just had a gentle and fairly quiet feel about him.

"He was an absolute pleasure to look after and be around in the last few years of his life.

"All of the nurses and everyone loved him because he was so easy to care for. He wasn't demanding. He rarely got even slightly grumpy. When you're 107 and full of aches and pains that's something."

Mr Cliff emigrated from England at age 103 to live with his family in Ipswich.

He is survived by his son, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.